Recent events have seen a significant increase in popularity of converting paper to digital documents by scanning paper records. This isn’t surprising when you compare this to the rise in remote working in the last 2 years, and the growing need to access data on the move. But what are the other benefits of digitising paper records, and how do you decide if it’s the right decision for your business?
This month we will be discussing ways of maximising the potential of your data, and the reasons for doing so. Whether you have concerns surrounding compliance, are looking to reduce costs, or improve efficiency and productivity, the motives for accelerating your digital journey have never been more appealing.
Compliance
We all know the importance of keeping our paper records secure, and with the guidelines surrounding data protection and GDPR constantly changing and evolving, it’s no wonder that more businesses are choosing to digitise records.
The risks surrounding storing and moving paper records are not unfamiliar to most, with many of us having our own negative experiences of these risks. This is not surprising if we think about how easily paper records can be misplaced, damaged, copied and shared with the wrong audience. Having your records digitised can not only reduce these risks, but can also improve your compliance by allowing you to better manage the retention of data, ensuring you only keep what you need, for as long as you need it.
Improve efficiency & productivity
Research shows that on average, a typical worker will spend 1.8 hours a day looking for information. This means that over the course of a week, a full working day is spent sifting through paper records, this is before even starting the task the information was required for. Imagine having an extra day a week to focus on other areas of your business, what could you and your team accomplish with an extra 9 hours a week?
Now, think about the ease of having access to all your business-critical documents in an organised digital structure, right at your fingertips, accessible at the click of a button, that’s exactly what a digital investment can help achieve.
Reduce costs
Whether your paper records are stored in house or off site, they can take up a lot of space, and as we know, space costs money. But when digitisation comes at a significant cost itself, you may be asking yourself, how digital-first records management could benefit you.
Maybe you have been thinking about moving to a smaller office space with more of your team working from home, or want to utilise the space you already have for more exciting ventures. Whatever the reason, digitally converting your paper files and storing them in the cloud can significantly reduce costs. Team this with the benefits surrounding efficiency and productivity as mentioned above, and the time saved in searching through paper records, and you can already start see the benefits of making a digital investment of scanning your paper records.
Remote access
The Covid-19 pandemic saw many new challenges and barriers to overcome, and with the increase in remote working, we all had to find new ways of accessing and sharing data whilst away from the office. Now however, these barriers have now become the new norm, with research showing that a huge 38% of workers have still not returned to the office.
Digitising your data is the safest, and most efficient way of supporting these new norms, allowing your team to access business critical documents anywhere, anytime. Having remote access allows multiple users to view the same document, at the same time, increasing collaboration. It also improves the pace in which time-critical cases can be actioned, reducing the need for staff to have to return to the office to collect and return paper documents.
Here at Chaffinch, we have scanned over 100m documents for customers in almost every industry. Whether the scanning complex engineering drawings, or a large volume scanning service of legal files, we have the infrastructure and experience to deliver your project successfully.
Still not sure if digital transformation is right for you? Get in touch to find out more.